CLB can't interfere with enforcement of security interest by secured creditor under SARFAESI Act

CL : Company court has no jurisdiction to issue directions to a securitization co or a secured creditor who has opted to stay outside winding up and invoke its power u/s 13 of SARFAESI ACT to enforce its security interest by sale without intervention of court or tribunal

IRDA allows insurers to continue existing non-compliant Micro-Insurance products till March 31, 2016

INSURANCE : Extension of Date for Continuance of Existing Micro Insurance Products

Govt. notifies Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2015

BANKING/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Act, 2015

Settlement amount paid by firm on behalf of its partner couldn’t be treated as exp. in its hand

IT: Where partnership firm of H and D dissolved and in terms of compromise, all assets and liabilities were taken by H, if subsequently H formed new firm taking new partners, payment made by new firm to D in terms of compromise between H and D could not be allowed

Dealers effecting sales via own website need not to file DVAT returns specified for e-com dealers

VAT : Clarification on Entities Providing Facility of Electronic Shopping (Commonly Known as E-Commerce) Through Their Web Portals

IRDA notifies new norms on issuance of capital by Indian life insurance Companies

INSURANCE/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : IRDAI (Issuance of Capital by Indian Insurance Companies Transacting Life Insurance Business) Regulations, 2015

No denial of exemption on intermediate goods if exempted final product cleared as per Rule 6 of CCR

Excise & Customs: Where assessee is engaged in manufacture of both dutiable and exempted final products and exempted final product is cleared on payment under rule 6 of CENVAT Credit Rules, exemption under Notification 67/95-CE cannot be denied in respect of intermediate goods

Apex Court directs refunding of stamp duty to purchaser as transaction of sale was cancelled by Cour

Stamp Act: Where transaction of sale of property between parties was not accomplished and Court had cancelled that contract, applicant was entitled to claim refund of stamp duty paid for purchase of that property

Dept. can’t decide whether a co-operative society is a bank or not as same is a matter to be resolve

IT: Income-tax Authorities possess no jurisdiction to resolve controversy as to whether co-operative society is a co-operative bank and, this issue is to be resolved by RBI

If goods are sold in transit only then such sale could be treated as subsequent sale under CST Act

CST & VAT: Central Sales Tax - Where assessee, a contractor, in terms of a works contract supplied goods to contractee for being used in turnkey project and claimed that it was a subsequent sale under section 6(2), since supply contract provided that goods purchased by assessee would be inspected initially by contractee and thereafter to be transported by assessee to work site of contractee in other State, supply of goods was not a subsequent sale

CBDT specifies procedure for handling 'Limited Scrutiny' cases

IT/ILT : Section 143 Of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Assessment – Scrutiny Assessment – Some Important Issues And Scope Of Scrutiny In Cases Selected Through Computer Aided Scrutiny Selection (CASS)

HC ordered sale of pledged shares to recover shortfall in repayment of overdue sum

Contract Act: Where loan of a company had been secured by respondent company by depositing shares belonging to their company by executing Non-Disposal Agreement/Loan Purchase Agreement with appellant bank and relevant clauses of agreement clearly mentioned that agreement would subsist till all dues of appellant bank were paid in full, in event of non-payment of shortfall in case of default, said shares were to be sold to recover shortfall

Now AOs to issue scrutiny notice along with questionnaire to convey compliance requirement

IT/ILT : Section 143 Of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Assessment – Scrutiny Assessment – Issuing Questionnaire In Cases Selected For Scrutiny

Withdrawal of warehousing facility isn't applicable on goods already cleared from factory

Excise & Customs : After withdrawal of warehousing facility, subsequent clearances to warehouse without payment of duty can be stopped; but, goods already cleared from factory to warehouse, cannot be denied benefit/terms under which they were cleared from factory

Issue of classification of Optical Fibre Cables by telecos referred to larger bench of CESTAT

Central Excise/Customs : Issue whether "Optical Fibre Cables" imported by assessee and used in Telecommunication are :

Govt. issues revised text for Bilateral Investment Treaty; excludes tax matters from its ambit

IT/ILT : Revised Model Bilateral Investment Treaty

RBI issues report of committee on Medium-term path on Financial Inclusion

BANKING : RBI Releases Report of Committee on Medium-Term Path on Financial Inclusion

A Co. can’t be excluded from list of comparables merely on ground of low turnover

IT/ILT: A company cannot be excluded from list of comparables on ground of its lower turnover as quantum of turnover can be no reason for exclusion of a company, which is otherwise comparable

Minimum Import Price, Tariff Barriers Can Curb Steel Imports: Jspl

Fixation of a minimum import price and imposition of WTO compliant tariff barriers can help curb the spate of cheap steel imports into the country from China, Japan and Korea, a top official from Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) said here today.

"The steel industry is passing through a very difficult phase with most of the steel units running into losses. There is dumping of steel into the country by China, Japan and Korea. The domestic steel producers have made representation to the Government of India on the crisis and we are hopeful that the government will take necessary action", Naveen Jindal, chairman of JSPL told reporters after meeting the state chief secretary Aditya Padhee.

Jindal said many steel plants have invested heavily on their projects in Odisha but most of them were incurring losses. Moreover, 90 per cent of the sponge iron plants have shut down, throwing thousands of people out of employment.

"The state government needs to step in by enhancing availability of iron ore and coal. Besides this, the iron ore duty structure needs to be rationalised. Presently, the duty of high grade lumps is applied even on low grade iron ore fines. This should change", he suggested.

Jindal also pointed to the exorbitant water cess and the levy to the Water Conservation Fund which the steel industries were not in a position to pay.

Commenting on auctions of an iron ore block notified by the state government, he said "This is a welcome step. But so far, only one block has been notified. More iron ore blocks need to be notified for auctions."

JSPL would bid for the auctioned blocks depending on suitability, he said.

The JSPL chairman said the company was committed to expansion of the Angul steel plant. "The first phase of the Angul plant is completed. The plant capacity would be expanded to 3.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) by the end of 2016 and six mtpa by March 2018", he informed.

Source :.business-standard.com

Interest to be levied on late payment of excise duty even if it was paid voluntarily and not determi

Excise & Customs: When there is admitted delay in payment of duty, interest is chargeable on delayed part of payment of duty even when duty was not determined under section 11A(2) and it was paid voluntarily; same position prior to 11.5.2001

India-Iran Strategic Partnership Discussed At First Joint Commission Meeting

NEW DELHI: The first India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) since the historic nuclear deal and decision to ease sanctions from Tehran discussed measures to expand economic and strategic partnership including increasing oil imports from the Persian Gulf country besides disbursement of pending oil payments, investments by Delhi in Iran's hydro-carbon sector and tried to iron out irritants to seal the contract for key Chabahar Port by next month.

Iran's Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Dr. Ali Tayyebnia, who is visiting for the bilateral Joint Commission meeting co-chaired by Foreign Miniser Sushma Swaraj, also discussed with the host the connectivity projects including International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project and rail link between Chabahar Port and Zahedan.

While Swaraj is yet to travel to Tehran this is the second high-level visit from Iran to India since nuclear deal in Delhi. Iranian Foreign Minister was here in August. Tayyebnia also met the PM. A statement from Prime Minister's Office said, "Prime Minister conveyed that India attached high importance to its relations with Iran. He recalled his fruitful meeting with President Rouhani in Ufa, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, in July 2015. Prime Minister expressed readiness on the part of India to further strengthen bilateral relations, including in the areas of trade, investment, oil and gas, connectivity, port development. "

While this statement did not give specifics there was enough hint that the issues of India's investment ($ 85 million) in Chabahar Port and Iran's oil sector, increasing the oil imports from Tehran, joint projects and INSTC were on the agenda of discussions.

At the JCM Swaraj underlined the efforts underway to enhance bilateral economic cooperation in energy, infrastructure - including shipping, ports and railways - and trade and commerce. She stressed that connectivity afforded by Indian participation in Chahbahar Port will facilitate linking Afghanistan and Central Asia with India.
 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Russia May Soon Get 'Taste Of India'

VADODARA: Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets brand Amul, is inching closer to export dairy products to Russia, making it the first Indian dairy major to enter that market.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Moscow, Amul is hopeful that Russia's Rosselkhoznadzor (also known as Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance or FSVPS) - will soon allow imports of dairy products from India by removing 1,000 cows' farm condition.

A top GCMMF official was part of the Indian delegation that accompanied Modi during the visit.

Although Russia had evaluated India as their supplier last year, after visits to few Indian dairy plants in November 2014, FSVPS had come up with the suggestion that only those Indian dairy plants which own more than 1,000 cows shall be approved for export of dairy products to Russia. Amul had objected to this as an impractical non-tariff barrier as Russia had not imposed this condition in any other country from where it imports milk products.

Also, majority of farmers in India have 2 to 5 milch animals and there are not more than 2 to 3 farms across the country that have more than 1,000 cows as asked by Russian protocol.

Based on these facts, Amul had knocked the Centre's doors arguing that for paltry exports - less than 100 metric tonnes (MT) - India should not surrender to this special condition.

"If Russia agrees to see things in newer perspective, it will help Indian dairy co-operative sector especially at the time when it is holding high inventory of milk powder and is receiving very high milk," said R S Sodhi, GCMMF's managing director.

All co-operatives put together currently have an inventory of 50,000 MT milk powder while Amul alone procures 205 lakh litres per day milk.

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com

 

Indian Textile Firm To Pay $100000 For Using Pirated Software

WASHINGTON: An Indian textile company has been ordered to pay a $100,000 penalty within 30 days by a US court to settle charges of using pirated software that gave it competitive advantages over American businesses.

Headquartered in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, Pratibha Syntex Ltd exports cloths to top American companies including Walmart.

As per the settlement reached, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and has been approved by a judge, the textile company has agreed to pay USD 100,000 in restitution within 30 days.

"Pratibha Syntex engaged in illegal business practices that placed California garment companies at a disadvantage, while hurting American software companies' ability to develop new and innovative products," California Attorney General Kamala Harris said.

"Businesses around the globe should be on notice that the state of California will hold them accountable for stealing intellectual property to unfairly undercut their competition," she said.

The case assumes significance as this is first time that a state government has secured a legally enforceable judgement against an international company for such violations.

In 2013, Harris sued Pratibha Syntex on the basis that it did not pay licensing fees for software it relied on for its business, including products manufactured by Adobe, Microsoft, and others, giving the company a significant cost advantage in the low-margin business of apparel manufacturing, shipment and sales.

Harris alleged that Pratibha Syntex gained an unfair competitive advantage over American-based companies by using pirated software in the production of clothing imported and sold in California.

Other terms of the landmark settlement prohibit Pratibha Syntex from using unlicensed software or reproducing any part of a copyrighted software program without the permission of the legitimate copyright holder, and further require the company to perform four complete audits of the software on their computers and fix any violations within 45 days, a media release said.

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

India's Silver Import To Set A New Record This Year

 Silver import in India is likely to set a new record in this calendar year due to rapid change in consumer preferences from imitation jewellery and artefacts made of alternative materials to silver.

Data compiled by precious metals consultancy Smaulgld.com showed India’s total silver import at 5,819 tonnes between January and September.

On an annualised basis, however, total silver import in calendar year 2015 is estimated at 7,759 tonnes, the highest ever India has imported in any calendar year so far, registering a rise of around 10% from the previous year. During the calendar year 2014, total import of silver was recorded at 7,083 tonnes.

Rising import of silver in India indicates a rapid change in consumers’ preferences over the last three years ever since its price started to fall. Unlike in the past, consumers now see a resale value in any form of silver purchase including jewellery, artefacts and investments products like coins and bars.

“As the trend shows from the volume of import between January and September, silver import in India will set a new record this year,” said Mohit Kamboj, President, India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA), on the sidelines of World Silver Council inauguration here.

After a staggering 19.31% decline in 2014, silver prices fell by nearly 8% in 2015. This means, the downward cycle in commodities has made silver affordable for consumers with a price decline of over 26% in the last two years to $14.32 an oz today from the level of $19.47 on January 1, 2014.

Similar price decline was seen in local currency as well. Price of silver at Zaveri Bazaar is quoted at Rs 34,200 a kg now, a decline of 22% from the level of Rs 43,800 a kg on January 1, 2014.

“A large chunk of imported silver goes for retail consumption for jewellery and artefacts. The industry has witnessed a number of imitation jewellery consumers getting diverted towards silver ornaments due to falling prices. This does not mean that the demand of imitation jewellery has completely evaporated. But, their average annual growth has declined in favour of silver jewellery,” said Rahul Mehta, managing director, Silver Emporium, a silver jewellery and artifacts’ manufacturer and retailer in Zaveri Bazaar here.

As a consequence, there has been a rapid shift in silver consumption in the last 10 years. Global silver demand for industrial use has slumped to 54% of global output in 2015 versus 69.4% in 2005 and India is no exception. Similarly, demand from silverware/jewellery has risen to 25.4% to 26.5% and bars and coins from 5.2% to 19.5%.

“The industry needs promotion of silver jewellery and artefacts; similar to the World Gold Council does for gold. Once World Silver Council starts promoting silver ornaments and other articles, India’s silver demand and import would zoom further,” said Mehta.

Meanwhile, under the aegis of IBJA, the World Silver Council was launched to protect the interest of silver miners, importers, refiners, traders, jewellers and all other directly and indirectly linked with the white precious metal.

Along with the World Silver Council, the IBJA also launched two other initiatives — First Step Foundation for fulfilling its corporate social responsibility and Skill Development Council to help enhance the skills of the Karigars in the industry. These initiatives were launched at the hands of Ram Nath Kovind, Governor of Bihar.

Source:business-standard.com

Notice can be affixed at main door of assessee’s premises if he refuses to receive it

IT: Where Income Tax Officer deputed two Inspectors to make personal service of notice under section 148 upon assessee but assessee refused to receive said notice and, thereafter notice was affixed at main door of assessee's clinic, there was valid service of notice under section 148 upon assessee